Makes Scents to Me
by Falcon Strife
Summary: -Hiatus- Yoh considers the scent of each of his friends. A mix of drama, romance, and humor. Hints of various pairings, but only Yoh x Anna is implied. Chp.3 Coconut Manta Chp.4 Cinnamon Anna
1. Milk and Honey

**Title**: Makes Scents to Me  
**Rating**: T  
**Genre**: General  
**Summary**: Everybody has a different scent. Yoh considers the scent of each of his friends. A mix of drama, romance, and humor. Hints of various pairings, but none are implied.  
**Disclaimer**: Shaman King © Hiroyuki Takei. Idea for Keiko's scent © Shrimpy Lil Shaman ( go read her stuff now! )  
**A/n**: Always with the weird series of one-shots am I. Now enjoy another strange idea presented by Yours Truly.

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* * *

Milk & Honey_

There is one scent that has always been a great comfort to me. And I mean a _great_ comfort. A pleasant mix of milk and honey. Don't ask why, because I'm already trying to explain it. Ne?

Milk and honey... The scent always reminds me of home, so sitting here at this tiresome dinner with Ren's family, I can't help but to sniff lightly, searching for that fragrance to give me the high it always gave me when I was little. I couldn't help but to giggle softly, and then give my mother an obedient nod when she hushed me.

Mommy always wore that scent when I was little too. Sometimes I would have a bad dream, and before I even woke up, I would know she was there. Milk and honey meant soft, warm arms, and the pulsing bosom that always made the bad go away. Other times Gramps would get mad and punish me. Milk and honey meant Mommy was going to tell him not to be so mean to me, and tell Daddy to take us out for shaved ice.

I couldn't help but to inwardly flinch when Ren's father brought up the incident with Hao on Top of Star. It was the most terrible thing I had ever experienced. First my soul was torn from my body. Only a half hour later, I had to cast aside my beliefs to kill my own brother. And after it all, I had to smile for my friends for a long journey home.

There was no milk and honey. Only the scents of various gasolines and pollution. When Dad and I were returning to Izumo, there was nothing pleasant. Only the powerful scents of the things that drove my brother mad. Even the smells of Izumo were of little comfort. I rushed into the estate anyway, looking for Mom, but found only my grandparents were there.

I spent that night in my room. I was tired, of course, and I didn't want to find out Anna's new training schedule (I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I knew how she would punish me for needing all of Patch Village's help); however, the main reason was because I wasn't used to the way I felt.

Depressed.

I fell asleep, trying to understand what it was. It seemed like I was only asleep for a second, but the next thing I knew I couldn't stop crying or shaking. Once I was finally able to stop crying, I realized I had been holding onto somebody, who held back. And with an attempt to clear my sinuses, I sniffed and was hit with a powerful scent. I think my heart skipped a beat, and suddenly I didn't feel so terrible. There was just the scent of milk and honey that brought warmth and comfort. Mommy was there, and that was all that mattered.

"Yoh, what are you doing?"

I looked across the table to Ren, who was glaring at me with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. _"Good ol' Ren,"_ I thought happily, and wondered if he was lucky enough to be able to recognize Jun by scent.

"Yoh, Ren asked you a question," Mom said with a small smile.

"Ooh, just enjoying the smells," I replied happily. I think I might have really annoyed Ren, because his hair grew about three inches into the ground.

"What?" he yelled in the tone that he uses when he's really angry. I frowned worriedly, and then noticed a strong, flowery scent. When I looked to my right, I realized that Jun had taken a seat next to me. I giggled sheepishly when Jun gave me her "Ren's just protective" smile, realizing why Ren was suddenly angry.


	2. Vanilla

_Vanilla_

I've always been an orange kinda guy, but I'm not one to discriminate against scents. Unfortunately, being the only die-hard "G.A.S.P." (Guys Against Scent Prejudice) in Funbari sometimes makes me do stupid things. Especially when I discover _whom_ is wearing certain scents. Like last Christmas Eve.

I had just entered the bathhouse when I caught a whiff of a smooth scent. I was pretty certain it should have been a soothing smell, but it also smelled yummy.

Yummy means... FOOD!

I ran as fast as I could, searching for the origin of the delicious sent that was decidedly vanilla. Maybe one of the gang had sneaked a treat, and if there was going to be treat sneaking, I didn't want to miss out. How often does Anna let me off those diets anyway?

However, there was only Ryu, soaking in the spring and resting after being stuck with the Christmas preparations. "Ryu?"

"Hmm?" He looked back at me, and a glance at his eyes made me smile. He was having his "Shaman Queen" thoughts again. "Yes, Big Brother?"

It's funny how he calls me that. I looked around again, and then decided maybe I could trick Ryu into telling me where he was hiding the goodies, and joined him from across the spring. "Aa. It'd be nice to have some snacks," I said, hoping a direct approach would work.

"If Horo and Ren wouldn't fight, I would make snacks for out here," he said, getting one of his grumpy faces.

"Why not make it for us?"

He looked at me the way Manta does. I don't know how to explain it. It's a kind of love, but not the kind where you want to get married. It seems like a free love.

And that vanilla mixed with the way Ryu's looking at me... It's giving me such a high.

"I would, but Ren would find out and say, 'How dare you neglect Tao Ren?'" he replied with a sigh. I like it when he mocks Ren like that. Sure, everybody does it, but Ryu can _really_ get that evil tone.

I slowly began moving towards him, following the scent, and hoping he wouldn't notice my search. "Well... Make some for Ren, too," I stated, hoping he would agree. Ren can be mean, but he _is_ Tao Ren. (Bason says he has a very delicate palate, whatever that is.)

"I haven't seen you under the mistletoe yet," Ryu said with his 'thinking' face.

I wonder if that's what Dad looks like under his mask. Maybe that's why Dad doesn't like it when Mom dances with Ryu during the holidays. I came to a stop when he looked at me, and then smiled nervously.

"I was sure by now you would have been," he said, although I don't know why.

So I asked him. "How come?"

"Don't you know what mistletoe is?" he demanded, and then I grinned when he let out his annoyed groan. "Mistletoe is hung above. When you see somebody under it, you're supposed to kiss them."

"Really?" I asked, and then saw my opportunity as he looked up to the sky.

"Was kinda hoping Tamao would have noticed earlier... but... I guess blowing out candles doesn't really grant wishes, huh?" I felt a little sorry for him when he asked that. Today was his birthday. (Lucky guy. He gets his birthday presents on Christmas eve, and then Christmas presents the next day!) "Ah, well," he said suddenly, and then looked towards me. I smiled when he flinched in surprise, not that I could blame him. My face was only inches from his.

"Ryu. Where are the treats?" I asked with a grin. The vanilla was coming from him. He couldn't hide it from me now!"

"Treats?" he asked. For a big guy, he's cute when he acts dumb. Maybe Ren would have a girlfriend if he acted like that. (Horo doesn't need too, though. Girls say he's like a big, fluffy puppy.)

"I smell vanilla, and it's all over you, Ryu," I explained with a grin. "I wanna treat too! Pleeeassse?" I stopped with the baby eye technique when he got an embarrassed look.

"Big Brother... That isn't food..." he said. He never talks slow like that.

"Oh yeah? Then why do you smell like it?"

"Big Brother... You know how you use orange shampoo and bodywash and stuff?"

"Hmm? What's that got to do with snacks?" I asked, a little annoyed that he wouldn't share the snacks.

"I use vanilla soap."

Dead silence.

And then I started giggling. That explains why I couldn't find any snacks. "Really? It smells so yummy, though!" I leapt forward to hug him, but forgetting how close we were, the hug was more of a tackle-of-death.

Ryu ended up making a yelled scared, which eventually brought in a very sleepy Tamao, who must have been on late-night-snack duty for Anna. "R-Ryu-san? Yoh-sama?" she cried. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Help me," Ryu said, being silly as always.

"Hee," I giggled, and then made play-bites on Ryu's neck, like when Tamao and I used to play 'Vampires'. "Ryu's yummy!" I cried, but a split second after I spotted the embarrassed look on Tamao's face, I realized I must have sounded like one of Manta's dad's dirty movies.

Oh well.

It took a while to convince the others that Ryu and I weren't boyfriends, but I guess I haven't helped in proving it. Vanilla always makes me drifty and makes me think of being in the hot spring with Ryu. Sometimes it's silly, and other nights are nice and quiet.

I like remembering the quiet nights.

Those are the nights I remember that I have an Onii-chan.

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**A/n**: Silly Yoh and a spin on his relationship with Ryu... I like this chapter. Thoughts? 


	3. Coconut

**Yoh's Glossary**: Cream-puff (Cream equals nice. Puff equals cute friend.) Cement-puff (Cement equals mean. Puff equals cute friend.) - Yoh is just too cute when he's simple-minded. : D

_Coconut_

You know what makes coconut a popular scent for all those weird creams at the drug store? Well, for a while I didn't really get it either. I mean, it was an awful lot like vanilla. Yummy, and comforting. Or it was until I _really_ got a whiff of it one day. And believe me, that day was disasterrific.

Manta and I had a... disagreement (this is where Ren would cut in to say that we had a fight.) I thought Manta was studying way too hard, so I hid his computer on him. He found out and turned into a cement-puff (Ren : Translation, he got ticked off.) He turns into a cement-puff a lot if he's been studying too much. And that's why I hid the computer. Of course, he did sorta find it (how did he know I hide everything in the closet?) And when he found it, he got even more mad and said I should respect other people's privacy, which made no sense, since I didn't even look at what he was doing.

Maybe I should have.

We had been disagreeing (Ren : Fighting! ) for most of the week for the same reason, so Manta went home for a couple of days. I got kinda lonely 'cause Ryu and Tamao were always in the kitchen (what do they do in there all day anyway?) and Anna... Well, Anna doesn't like to play or watch stars (unless it's those TV stars on her favorite soap operas.) Faust is always busy with Eliza and his patients, and Horo and Ren were having sister problems that week, so I didn't really have anybody to talk to (even Amidamaru was constantly off somewhere with Grammy!) So I went to Manta's to see if he was gonna be a cream-puff again, since he's really, really, _really_ nice when he's a cream-puff! I thought maybe we watch TV or something (I was too tired to walk 'cause Anna had me running all day.)

When I got there, he had just got out of the shower and was nice again. I like it when his family isn't in town, 'cause he's really nice and relaxed. I had to keep from grabbing him like a teddy though, 'cause he smelled like really yummy treats like what Ryu had smelled like when I discovered he was vanilla.

Most of the night was normal, but when it got later I started feeling funny. My dad once told me those feelings were 'manly' and I should embrace them.

I never saw Mommy hit Daddy so hard before.

She said that they were special feelings I should save for somebody special. So I got to thinking; the feelings make me feel nice, and Manta was special. He was my best friend. His sister told me that he adored me more than Li Pailong. That counts as special, doesn't it? So I decided that I wanted to feel nice with my special someone. Mommy should have been clearer.

* * *

"Manta?" I asked with a smile. He always looks so cute when he's falling asleep. Like a little doll or something. I wonder if he would let me dress him up some time. "Manta!"

"Mm?" He gave me one of his really drifty looks. He looked really happy, like he had done things for himself. Like he got a massage, or he used some really pretty oils in the bath, or something like that. Or maybe like something really nice happened. Ren looks a little like that when he's with Jun.

He didn't answer much, so I started snuggling with him. Usually when he gets mad we do that, but it makes him mad any other time. He says that it's weird 'cause we're both boys. I tried telling him it's weirder how girls always kiss other girls, but he doesn't like to listen if he thinks his daddy's rules are right (sometimes I really think his mean ol' daddy should just... just... go jump in a bowl of pudding!) So we snuggled for a minute, but he started getting all twitchy like the pet ant I had when I was little (I miss Mr. Wigglesworth). The funny feeling came back even more, so I held onto him, and he started turning, once again, into a cement-puff. Suddenly I liked holding onto him. I wanted to keep holding onto him. And maybe even...

SMACK!

* * *

Manta's scarey. He can hit almost as hard as Anna.

I found out two days later why Manta was making me feel funny. Apparently he wasn't doing school work. He was trying to find out what kind of smells would make girls think he was attractive. Apparently coconut can make people feel funny and want to do mommy-daddy things together. (Ren: -too much laughing to type- Me: Oh, go jump in pudding, Ren!)

Ryu told me I'm not allowed to kiss Manta because his daddy raised him to be scared of boys who kiss other boys (that mean ol' meany!) Manta won't snuggle anymore, and he doesn't wear coconut if we're alone. He wears it if the others are around though (I think maybe he's trying to get Jun to notice him.)

Whenever I smell coconut now, I'm reminded of just how scary Manta can be. More importantly, though, I remember my best friend, and how nice he is inside (not to mention how nice he is to snuggle with!)

Ren thinks I should try dating. I don't think I will. Dating means kissing. If a kiss on the forehead means getting hit like that again, I don't wanna know what grown-up kissing is like.

It just occurred to me.

I have to give Anna a grown-up kiss when we get married! (Ren: HAH!)


	4. Cinnamon

_Cinnamon_

When I was very young, cinnamon always meant one thing; Grammy Cookies. They were the greatest cookies in the world, and I only got them for my birthday (Grammy says it was because I had to spend most of my time with Grandpa.) As I got older, that scent became a terrifying nightmare to my nose (can noses have nightmares?) Shizuka once told me that the scent a person wears often reflects their personality. I can believe that. Cinnamon is supposed to be a lively scent; spicy and full of intent.

And there's nobody as spicy or as full of intent as Anna.

I was waiting for Grammy Cookies, as always that morning. It was such a nice morning. The sun was bright, and the winter snow was all gone. I remember feeling like I was on top of the world, because Gramps had gone away for a week, which got me out of training until he came home in three days. On top of that Mommy and Daddy were gonna be home for my birthday that night.

After playing in the lake all morning, I came in to get dressed so I could go and play in the woods. (Grammy told me I couldn't go into the woods unless I had clothes on, because I might scare a little girl who might go camping.) So I got dressed really fast, and then went running for the door. But just as I was passing one of the bedrooms, I stopped and sniffed. The scent of cinnamon cookies was also coming from that room. Now you've seen what food caused me to do to poor Ryu and Manta. This happened long before I even lived in Funbari, so I had absolutely no self-control.

I burst in, trying to find where it was coming from, and then frowned when I found only Anna, studying. She looked angry at me for a moment, but then looked back to the book she was reading. Now, normally I would have asked for a snack, but I knew Anna better than that. So I went and sat close to her, and tried to pretend that I cared about whatever she had been studying.

"What do you want, Yoh?" she asked, mean as always.

"What are you studying?" I asked while trying to seem interested. I frowned when I couldn't see any cookies, though they smelled like they were right beside me.

"What do you care?" Anna asked while shifting.

I looked at her dress thoughtfully, and then smiled. The way it was folded reminded me of a pocket. And then it hit me.

I bet she was hiding it in a pocket under her dress!

I moved closer to look at the book, but needless to say, it made no sense to me. Deciding that it was a bad path to follow, I looked back and noticed a bruise on her leg. "You hurt yourself," I said with a bit of surprise.

"Because you left the hall a mess when you went to bed," she replied icily. Not knowing any better, I reached out and started to rub her leg, hoping to make her feel a little better. "What are you doing?"

"Dad massages Mom's shoulders when they're sore," I replied with a smile. She seemed satisfied with this, and went back to studying. After a minute I became impatient, and then as quickly as I could, I put my hand under the skirt to find the pocket that would hold the cookie. I'm sure if Ren knew, he'd make some dirty joke about how there really _was_ a pocket, but I never found what I was looking for.

Everything went really fast then. Anna jumped and hit me, and at the same time Grammy had come in and yelled at me. The next thing I knew, I was sent to my room for punishment. All I had wanted was some cinnamon cookies!

Later that night, Grammy told me that Anna and I were going to get married. She said that I was at the right age to be engaged, but I later found out it was because she and my parents thought I was trying to do dirty things.

That was when Daddy told me about how my feelings were manly (when Mommy really hit him, if you remember).

-

"Yoh."

I smiled nervously. Nowadays, it seems Anna always has something to pick at me for. "Yes, Anna?" I asked nervously.

"I'm out of lotion. Go to the store and buy some more."

She's always so cold. I wish she'd say please or thank you, just once. But I went anyway. I went to the store, found the cinnamon-scented lotion she used to 'keep her girlish looks', as Horo once put it, and returned to the onsen.

It's been years since I thought she had the cookie, and I think she may have put it behind her. I asked Ryu not to make desserts with cinnamon in it, though. I usually notice the smell the few times Anna is really nice to me, and I like to hold onto those moments. Even if Anna won't let me have a restful life, I'm often reminded that my family chose somebody who will look after me, whenever I happen across that spicy scent.

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**A/n**: Holy crap. o,o I actually wrote Yoh x Anna! (BTW, Yoh x Manta wasn't supposed to be implied.) Reviews please.


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